A mom in Texas was shocked by what she found on her 12-year-old’s phone. Also, Gagan from Vancouver, Washington, is an eighth grader who wants to start his own tech newsletter for teens. Plus: an AI bot that can join your Zoom calls, and why it’s important to sound good on video calls.
⚾ Bat boy vs. drone: America’s new pastime: It’s not the worst thing to happen to baseball, but it’s up there. During an A’s vs. Cubs game, a rogue drone buzzed the outfield. While security stood around shrugging, a lone hero, a 22-year-old bat boy Stewart Thalblum sprang into action. Armed with nothing but a Louisville Slugger and zero hesitation, he whacked the drone out of the sky. No injuries, no lawsuits, just one less robot in the air.
55 years old
The age of an underwater camera trap discovered by a robot submarine at the bottom of a dark Scottish lake. And yes, you guessed right, it was part of a hunt for the Loch Ness Monster. The camera was in such good shape that they actually managed to develop a few photos. Sadly, no Nessie. Just murky water and crushed dreams. What does the Loch Ness monster eat? Fish and ships! 😂
🌙 Need a bedtime story for the kids? It’s tough to get creative at 8 p.m. when your brain’s fried from a long day. No worries, just use a chatbot to tell the tale. I like to include the child’s age, interests and a theme. For example: “Can you make up a bedtime story for a 5-year-old boy about a brave knight?” Voilà, no stress to impress.
🤖 AI saved his life: I love this. Meet Joseph Coates. Just over a year ago, this 37-year-old was on death’s door from a rare blood disorder called POEMS syndrome. But an AI nonprofit called Every Cure found a new drug combo that started working within a week. Today, he’s in remission. Imagine more cures AI can find with drugs we already have.
💔 When will people wake up? A 63-year-old woman was ready to leave her husband for a scammer pretending to be Enrique Iglesias. Over two years, he talked her out of thousands of dollars. When her cash dried up, he told her to steal it. Hubby traced the messages to Nigeria and begged her to stop. She even went on TV and still swears it’s Iglesias. So sad.
About time: If your teen is using the AI chat app Character.AI, turn on Parental Insights to get a weekly report showing how much time they spend on it, which bots they talk to and for how long. This comes after a heartbreaking case where a Florida mom said her 14-year-old son took his own life after forming a bond with a chatbot on the app. Bottom line: These AI friends aren’t always harmless.
$5.7 million
The world’s most expensive and rarest dog. He’s the first wolf and Caucasian shepherd mix called a “wolfdog.” At 8 months old, he already weighs 165 pounds. Speaking of … I can’t take my dog to the park as all the ducks keep trying to bite her. My fault for getting one that’s pure bread.
💪 “Granny Guns”: That’s what fans call 68-year-old weight lifting star Marlene Flowers. After a scare hospitalized her 10 years ago, she changed her life, and her son started sharing her workouts on TikTok. Now, over 2 million followers watch her flex her big biceps. Love her. It’s never too late to feel strong and confident.
117 years old
The remarkable age Maria Branyas Morera reached before passing away last August. Scientists discovered her secret: genes that kept her cells acting 17 years younger and gut bacteria as healthy as an infant’s. Longevity goals, anyone?
1.4 million years old
That’s the age of a skull found in a cave in Spain’s Atapuerca Mountains. What makes it special? It belonged to a Homo erectus, aka one of our early human relatives. Amazing.
🏜️ Lost civilizations? Many are buried beneath sand making them nearly impossible to find. But now, researchers are using incredible SAR technology to send radar waves underground to detect hidden structures. Combine that with AI, and boom, it’s picking up things like 5,000-year-old settlements in Dubai. Amazing. Mummy’s home!
Hidden cams at a sleepover - March 15th, Hour 3
An 11-year-old girl makes a creepy discovery at her friend’s house. Plus, VR in prison, bad photos on Wikipedia, and how to stream Metallica’s latest concert.
👶 It’s Octomom, aka Natalie Suleman: Yep, the woman who made headlines years ago for giving birth to eight kids! Well, they’re all 16 now, and momma bear is raising them old-school and strict. No phones, no dating until 18 and zero social media.
You have to C#: Fired web dev Davis Lu allegedly activated a kill switch, locking thousands out of his past employer’s systems. Now, the 55-year-old faces up to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of criminal sabotage, though he plans to appeal. Anytime you need to get rid of someone in IT, minimize the risks.
25%
Americans feel burned out before they turn 30. Many Gen Z and millennials say they’ve hit “peak stress” at 25. That’s way younger than the average of 42 years old when most folks start having a midlife crisis.
😱 This is horrifying: A mom says she’ll never let her daughter go to another sleepover again. Why? Her 11-year-old found cameras in her friend’s bedroom. The parents said they were “for security” but turned off. Except … the light was on. So she covered them with a shirt. The parents came in, removed it and that’s when she called her mom to pick her up.
🚘 It’s a car, not a phone: Volkswagen gets it. After plenty of complaints, VW is ditching haptic sliders and touch controls and bringing back physical buttons. Climate control, hazard lights and volume will return to good old-fashioned knobs. The change starts rolling out next year.
22,000 years old
Vehicle tracks were found in the U.S., and they might belong to a travois. That’s a sled-like frame pulled by a person or horse. If that’s the case, humans were wandering America 7,000 years earlier than we thought. Mind blown.
Hi, you: Old voicemails can be particularly nostalgic when you’re missing someone. Make sure you save yours the right way. I did this with old messages from Mom.